North Korean Bandaji (Front Opening Chests) from Pakchon are highly desired by both collectors and interior designers for their very fine, detailed, lacelike ironwork (soong-soong-i). This particular Pakchon Bandaji is a fine, beautiful example. It is adorned with a number of auspicious symbols in beautiful ironwork, including swallows (symbol of beauty and prosperity), an abundance of artfully designed floral patterns, and the most gorgeously rendered Namdaemun. The Namdaemun is the South Gate ... Click for details
Bandaji (front opening chests) from Pyongyang, North Korea are taller than other Korean bandaji. They are highly prized for their size and their beautiful, bold white brass metalwork. The metalwork on this piece is some of the most magnificent we've seen on a Pyongyang chest. It is filled with gorgeous floral motifs and lovely cranes, an ancient symbol of faithful love. It is constructed entirely of lime wood. 40h x 36w x 19d inches, 101.5h x 91.5w x 48.5d cm.
This exquisite Samchung-jang (Korean Three Level Chest) will surely be the showcase piece in any collection. The highest standards of traditional Korean refinement were applied to the design and construction of this museum quality masterwork of dragon burlwood (zelkova root). On the rare occasion when you do see an old and fine Korean chest of zelkova, it is always just the panels that are of zelkova, while the frame is pine. This rare chest actually uses zelkova for both the panels and the fram... Click for details
This gorgeous Ichung-nong (Korean Two Unit Stacked Chest) is a rare early piece (mid 19th Century) that has aged to a warm rich hue that is nothing short of a heartwarming and rare treasure to behold. It is a beautiful effect that could never be even closely duplicated with new wood. The finishing process involved singing the wood with a hot iron to both darken it and draw out the resin, and then using straw to rub pinesoot into the grain to further darken it and simultaneously seal the pores an... Click for details
Genuine 19th Century Ton-kwe (Korean Coin Chests) are becoming increasingly rare on the antiques market. They are highly prized by collectors, as their purpose required that they be the heaviest and most well constructed piece of furniture in the home. Paper money did not exist in Yi Dynasty Korea, and the coins were of very small denominations. They had to be strung together in large, heavy quantities to have any worth, so a strong money box was a necessity. Here's a funny quote from 1898 on Ko... Click for details
This Gyoui (Memorial Tablet Chair) was used to seat the memorial tablet of the deceased and was placed in the family ancestral shrine. For most people, the shrine was within the home. The rich could afford to build a shrine next to and separate from the home. This chair has a narrow seat for the tablet and tall legs to make it stand taller than the table of offerings that was placed before it. It is called Yeongja-gyoui during the three-year mourning period. After that, it is called Sinjwa-gyoui... Click for details
This fine, gorgeous Duiju (Korean Rice Chest), with its stunning, large zelkova front panel and frame of thick, sturdy pine to hold the weight of the rice, is a twin in size, quality, and construction of the Duiju in Korea's Onyang Museum (cf. Korean Furniture and Culture, page 60). 35w x 34.5h x 23d inches, 89w x 88h x 59d cm.
It is very rare to come across a lady's inkstone box. This one has the added personal touch of an old coin slot that the lady cut out inside the top box along the edge, along with a notch in the drawer to accommodate the coins. The woman who owned this box must have been a very interesting and special lady. It is constructed of paulownia. 10d x 8.5h x 8.25w inches, 25.5d x 21.5h x 21w cm.
Vintage Korean apothecary chest, or Yak Jang, with 16 drawers, each carved with two ideographs to indicate a particular herbal remedy. An open shelf extends across the top section. Two doors at the bottom open to reveal a storage area lined with old Korean paper. Decorated with brass hardware. The drawers are lined in red fabric and were used to hold silverware by the previous owner. This chest was purchased by expatriates to Korea in the early 1980s and is believed to date from the mid-20th c... Click for details
